Portable insulation spraying device



y 6, 1952 J. L. KEMPTHORNE 2,595,528

PORTABLE INSULATION SPRAYING DEVICE Filed April 28, 1950 I N VEN TOR.dL.Kem of/E craze BY I *1 A T TORNEY Patented May 6, 1952 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE PORTABLE INSULATION SPRAYING DEVICE James L. Kempthorne,Essex Fells, N. J.

Application April 28, 1950, Serial No. 158,810

3 Claims. (01. 299-86) This invention relates to devices used forspraying insulation and acoustical materials onto walls and ceilings.Equipment conventionally used for the purpose is bulky, consisting ofair compressors, tanks, large hoppers, blowers, hoses, and the like,requires considerable time to set up and operate, and involvessubstantial trucking costs.

After a spraying job has been completed and the conventional bulkyequipment has been removed, it is frequently found that some smallspray, patch work is required, because of smudging or other damage byworkmen and others, or for alterations or other reasons. The presentinvention provides a portable device well suited to meet these specialneeds, adapted to perform small or very special work in an accurate,convenient and highly satisfactory manner and at low cost.

The invention provides an effective and practical portable insulationspraying, patching device which is suspended by a strap on the workmansbody, leaving his right hand free for operation of the spray gun and hisleft hand for feeding the insulation material into the device. Thedevice enables the operator to synchronize relative application ofliquid adhesive and fiber, placing the material exactly where needed andenabling the accurate matching of the texture of work previously done.After the area has been properly patched, the device may be used forapplying a spray paint finish thereto.

The device is believed to be highly novel in the field of sprayedinsulation materials, filling a need which has existed for many years inthe field.

These and other advantageous objects, which will appear from thedrawings, and from the description hereinafter, are accomplished by thestructure of my invention, of which embodiments are illustrated in thedrawings. It will be apparent, from a consideration of said drawings,and the following description, that the invention may be embodied inother forms suggested thereby, and such other forms as come within thescope of the appended claims are to be considered within the scope andpurview of the instant invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, and

.Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view of another form of liquidprojection unit which may be used in the device.

As shown in the drawings, the spraying, patching device of my inventioncomprises an elongated, hollow tube It, through which the insulationmaterial may be projected under pressure and onto the surface to becoated. The tube is of suflicient length and the material projectedtherethrough at such velocity that said material will continue in asubstantially straight line after leaving the tube and onto the surfaceto be coated. The tube has an intake or rear end 20 connected to themotor driven pump unit I I, and a discharge or free front end 30. Themotor driven pump unit comprises a motor l2 and a blower or pump l3driven thereby, the discharge end M of said pump being connected to therear (intake) end of tube ID. The pump has an intake port !5 disposedbeyond the end 20 of tube II].

A suspension strap i6 is connected at its opposite ends ll, [8 to theinsulation projection tube It! and pump intake port l5 and is providedwith buckle or other suitable adjustment means H) to vary the lengththereof. Said device has a brace unit 26 comprising a body brace plate21 connected to the pump unit by brackets 28, 29 or the like. The braceplate 21, which is preferably of arcuate cross-section, (Fig. 2) isdisposed past the pump end of the device, so that it may be positionedagainst the users body to stabilize the device and facilitatemanipulation and operation thereof.

A liquid adhesive projection unit 3| is suspended from the insulationprojection tube ll] adjacent the front end 30 thereof and is providedwith a discharge nozzle 32 disposed at an acute angle to the axial planeof tube It], being directed to the projected path 33 of the insulationmaterial discharged from end 30 of tube Ill. Unit 3| includes a liquidreservoir 34, Fig. 1, 34a, Fig. 3, and means for spraying said liquidthrough a nozzle in a discharge path 35 at an acute angle directed pastthe front end 30 of the insulation projection tube I0 tangential to theprojected path 33 of the material discharged from tube [0. The liquidreservoir 34 may be in the form of a jar adapted to be filled with anadhesive suitable for wetting the insulation material to cause the sameto adhere to the surface to be coated, the jar being removably securedto the unit-for example, being removably secured to the head 31 whichhas the nozzle 32 connected to the tube 39 depending from the head 31into reservoir 34.

The head 3! is provided with means, such as a motor-driven rotary orreciprocating means, connected to the nozzle-tube 39 arrangement, forsiphoning the liquid from the reservoir 34 and out of the nozzle 32. Theunit 3| includes a pistol grip 54 having a trigger switch 53 cut intothe circuit between the current cable 51 and the motor in head 31.

Other means may be substituted for that shown in Fig. 1 for theprojection of the liquid from the nozzle 32. For example, as shown inFig. 3, a compressed air head 45 may be used, including a nozzle 46through which the compressed air stream may be projected past the nozzleor open cap 47 of tube 39a in reservoir 34a. The head 45 may have acompressed air line 49 and switch or valve means 50 for control thereof.

In the operation of the device in the form shown in Fig. 1, the operatorloops the strap [6 over his body, with the plate 27 positioned againsthis body; his right hand grasps the pistol grip 54 and he operates thecontrol such as trigger 53 of Fig. 1 or valve 50 of Fig. 4 to actuatethe mechanism for discharge of fluid through the nozzle 32. With theother hand, the operator may feed the insulation material into theintake tube ll: of the pump, preferably by dropping the material intothe funnel 40 vertically disposed relative to the axial plane of tubeI!) connected to tube I 5. The liquid in the reservoir 34 may be anadhesive or similar material to wet the fibers of insulation materialprojected through the tube ID for patching or small job purposes. Thereservoir 34 may be filled with a paint material for finishing purposes.

The pistol grip 54, which is preferably adjacent and below the front endof the tube l and connected thereto by brackets 55 or the like,facilitates manipulation of the device by the user.

The device may be provided with suitable speed and other controls founddesirable, such as onoil" switches, rheostats and the like, as generallyindicated by the reference character 56. Cable 51 is secured to thedevice as at 58 for connection with the liquid reservoir and pump units3|, II. The other end of the cable (not shown) may be connected to anysuitable electric outlet. A small compressor and adhesive or paint tankmay be used in connection with the device and connected thereto byflexible lines, if desired.

The device of the invention is portable, highly maneuverable andefficient in operation. It is adapted for use particularly forapplication of asbestos and similar materials in patching and for smallor special jobs. The device enables the operator to accurately controlthe relative amounts of asbestos and adhesive and to accurately trainthe device to the surface to be coated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A portable manually carried spraying device comprising an elongatedtubular barrel straight throughout its length and open at its front andrear ends, a motor driven pump unit, said pump having a forwardlydisposed discharge spout connected with the rear end of said barrel, anintake tube extending rearwardly from said pump and having an open tophopper at its rear end, a body engaging brace consisting of a horizontallongitudinally curved chest engaging plate extending transversely ofsaid barrel and said pump unit and being offset to one side of thebarrel for its entire length, said plate having forwardly extendingsupporting arms secured at their front ends to the pump and the motor atthe adjoining side of the pump unit, and a suspension strap of a lengthadapting it to be passed about the neck of the person and having one endconnecteol with said intake tube and its other end connected with saidbarrel, the upper open end of the hopper lying in substantially thesame-horizontal plane as the top edge of the chest engaging plate, sothat the suspension strap will not interfere with the feeding ofmaterial into the hopper and to said intake tube.

2. A portable spraying device as set forth in claim 1, the motor of saidunit being disposed in front of the pump and extending longitudinally ofthe barrel directly under the same.

3. A portable spraying device as set forth in claim 1, an auxiliarysprayer positioned directly under the forward portion of the barrel andsuspended therefrom for discharging material forwardly and having arearwardly disposed hand grip constituting means for imparting movementto the barrel and the pump unit when gripped and actuated by theoperator to thereby control the discharge of the material forwardly fromthe barrel.

JAMES L. KEMPTHORNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,045,217 Thomas Nov. 26, 19121,278,768 Shoulders Sept. 10, 1918 1,755,329 McCormack Apr. 22, 19302,343,163 Vose Feb. 29, 1944 2,391,048 Vose Dec. 18, 1945 2,433,463Lampe Dec. 30, 19 7

